Gone are the days when CSS attracted the best and brightest of Pakistan. It was known for recruiting the most competent officers who subsequently proved their worth but nowadays this exam has been turned into a lottery wherein luck has overridden hard work and competitiveness. Every year the luckiest candidates get through the exam. Most of the luckiest and successful candidates are below par, on the other hand the ill-fated hard working and competent candidates are either failed or they remain unallocated. The result of CE-2013 is utterly unjust in which only 2% candidates were declared successful. It has been the worst result in CSS history. Many competent candidates flunked whereas number of lucky candidates remained successful.
This exam has number of flaws which turned it into a lottery: low-score trend in some optional subjects, erratic way of marking, giving high marks to crammers and turning a blind eye to the analytical reasoning are the tip of this proverbial iceberg. This flawed approach has destroyed the careers of many candidates who for the sake of this exam didn’t join other jobs or quit them. At the end of the day those unlucky chaps are left with nothing as they cross the age limit. FPSC should do away with such flawed system of checking papers so that this competition-turned-lottery can once again become a real competitive exam!
ALI IMRAN RAJPUT,
Naushahro Feroze, December 6.